Hostname: page-component-5cf477f64f-bmd9x Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-26T21:29:00.197Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français
Accepted manuscript

Advertisements of ultra-processed products outside food outlets: Field evidence from Montevideo, Uruguay

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2025

Gastón Ares ,
Florencia Alcaire ,
Gerónimo Brunet Open the ORCID record for Gerónimo Brunet [Opens in a new window] ,
Tobias Otterbring Open the ORCID record for Tobias Otterbring [Opens in a new window] ,
María Costa ,
Sofía Verdier ,
María Rosa Curutchet ,
Luciana Bonilla ,
Sergio Turra  and
Fernanda Risso
...Show all authors
Gastón Ares
Affiliation:
Sensometrics & Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República. By Pass de Rutas 8 y 101 s/n. CP 91000. Pando, Uruguay.
Florencia Alcaire
Affiliation:
Sensometrics & Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República. By Pass de Rutas 8 y 101 s/n. CP 91000. Pando, Uruguay.
Gerónimo Brunet
Affiliation:
Espacio Interdisciplinario, Universidad de la República, José Enrique Rodó 1843, CP 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Tobias Otterbring*
Affiliation:
School of Business and Law, Department of Management, University of Agder, Universitetsveien 17, Kristiansand, Norway
María Costa
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Alimentación, Ministerio de Desarrollo Social, Piedras 165, CP 11000, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Sofía Verdier
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Alimentación, Ministerio de Desarrollo Social, Piedras 165, CP 11000, Montevideo, Uruguay.
María Rosa Curutchet
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Alimentación, Ministerio de Desarrollo Social, Piedras 165, CP 11000, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Luciana Bonilla
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Alimentación, Ministerio de Desarrollo Social, Piedras 165, CP 11000, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Sergio Turra
Affiliation:
Escuela de Nutrición, Universidad de la República, Av. Ricaldoni S/N, CP 11600, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Fernanda Risso
Affiliation:
Escuela de Nutrición, Universidad de la República, Av. Ricaldoni S/N, CP 11600, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Leticia Vidal
Affiliation:
Sensometrics & Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República. By Pass de Rutas 8 y 101 s/n. CP 91000. Pando, Uruguay.
*
*Corresponding author: Tobias Otterbring [tobias.otterbring@uia.no]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objectives:

To evaluate the prevalence of advertisements of ultra-processed products outside food outlets in Montevideo (Uruguay) and to explore the patterns of these advertisements across areas with different socio-economic status.

Design:

Cross-sectional field survey of advertisements of ultra-processed products outside food outlets. The percentage of outlets featuring any type of advertisement of ultra-processed products on the exterior part of the outlets was calculated, at the aggregate level and separately by type of outlet and type of product. Comparisons were made considering the socio-economic status of the tract where outlets were located.

Setting:

106 census tracts in Montevideo, differing in geographical location and socio-economic status.

Participants:

Outlets selling foods and beverages, located within the selected census tracts.

Results:

30.7% of the 1,217 food outlets identified in the field survey featured some type of exterior advertisement of ultra-processed products. Sweetened beverages (specifically soda) was the most frequently advertised ultra-processed product category, followed by ice-cream. After adjusting for the type of outlet, medium SES tracts exhibited the highest prevalence of ultra-processed product advertisements outside food outlets (36.0%). Differences in the prevalence of advertisements of specific categories with SES were also found, which may reflect variations in the types and characteristics of food outlets.

Conclusions:

Results from the present work suggest frequent exterior advertisements of ultra-processed products and highlight the need to develop effective policies to reduce their use as part of a comprehensive set of strategies to discourage consumption of ultra-processed products.

Keywords

food environmentfood marketingout-of-home marketingoutdoor marketingcommercial determinants of health
Type
Research Paper
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Accepted manuscript , pp. 1 - 24
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society